49ers beaten to the punch

After 13 minutes Sunday, the Rams, owners of the NFL’s 28th-ranked offense, had 14 points, 159 yards and nine first downs.

True, this wasn’t supposed to be a fair fight, but no one expected that St. Louis would play the role of bully against a defense that arrived leading the NFL by allowing only 12.9 points per game.

Trailing by two touchdowns, 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis admitted he had a what’s-going-on-here moment in the first quarter: “It’s 14-0 before you know it and you are like, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, this is not right.’ “

Coming off a bye week and playing their second game in 24 days, the 49ers appeared to arrive in sleepwalk mode for Sunday’s 24-24 tie against a 3-5 team on a three-game losing streak. Jim Harbaugh, who will never criticize his players publicly, only said, “Don’t know exactly” when asked if his team wasn’t ready for kickoff.

“I don’t know if it was (more), but they did come out ready,” said safety Dashon Goldson when asked if the Rams arrived with more urgency. “They were playing the 49ers. I expect them to.”

San Francisco eventually awoke: After its game-opening touchdowns, St. Louis’ next four full drives netted three punts and a field goal.

However, the 49ers’ vaunted defense disappeared again when it mattered most.

Trailing 21-17 midway through the fourth quarter, the Rams went on a 14-play, 81-yard, seven-plus minute drive that ended with Sam Bradford’s 2-yard scoring pass to Austin Pettis with 1:09 left. The drive was kept alive by a successful fake punt, but Bradford completed 6 of 7 passes for 52 yards against the NFL’s second-ranked pass defense.

“I wouldn’t say we thought we had the game,” Goldson said. “But at the same time, we knew it was an opportunity to get out there, put our offense back on the field and win the football game.”

His 14-yard scoring reception in the second quarter was Crabtree’s sixth against St. Louis in the teams’ past five meetings, a span during which he has 27 catches for 435 yards.

Crabtree has four touchdowns in his past four games after posting three scores in his previous 13 contests.

Briefly: The Rams suspended two rookie starters, cornerback Janoris Jenkins and wide receiver Chris Givens, for violating team rules. … Niners running back Brandon Jacobs was a healthy scratch. Jacobs has been active for one game this season, but did not play a snap. … Left guard Mike Iupati left the game for one play in the fourth quarter with an apparent knee injury. Iupati said he was “fine.” … Linebacker Aldon Smith (two sacks) ranks third in the NFL with 9.5 sacks.